Now come the civility finger-waggers. The news release says a team of policy fellows from the Humphrey School is launching “Keep It Civil MN.”

“This project aims to promote civility in Minnesota politics at the State Capitol,” says the release. Meetings with legislators will create a “healthy and civil bipartisan atmosphere.”

Naturally, there will be a Facebook page and Twitter account and a hashtag, #KeepItCivilMN, “to encourage civil political discourse online.”

Why the need?

From the release: “At some point in recent history, political debate entered a wider-than-usual spiral of negativity.” Debates “have become increasingly filled with remarks that are uncivil, sarcastic, deceptive, disingenuous, snarky and downright nasty.”

Recent history? By recent history, do they mean 1964? That’s when President Lyndon Johnson and his men ran the “Daisy” ad, an ominous spot that warned of a coming nuclear catastrophe should Johnson’s opponent, Sen. Barry Goldwater, get elected. Candidates these days usually warn about tax increases or school funding cuts, not nuclear war. . . .

In 1856, antislavery Republican Charles Sumner made a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate in which, according to the Senate’s website, he mocked South Carolina colleague Andrew Butler for taking a mistress, “the harlot, slavery.” Butler’s fellow South Carolinian, Rep. Preston Brooks, would later enter the chamber and beat Sumner with a cane near to death.

If only there had been a “Keep It Civil” campaign to create a “healthy and civil bipartisan atmosphere” around the issue of slavery.

The Minnesota health department’s 39-page white paper was commissioned by the state legislature.

The report found that the Minnesota employees least likely to have paid sick leave are in the occupations most likely to have contact with the public: long-term care, health care and food services. . . .

Criticism of paid leave legislation has come largely from business owners, who argue that new requirements will hurt their bottom line and subject them to overbearing regulations.

“Mandating benefits hinders employers’ flexibility to deal with individual employee circumstances and may ignore the realities of their particular industry,” Ben Gerber, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s manager of labor/management policy, said in a statement. “Proposed mandates are especially onerous and troublesome for small employers.”

The MDH report found that employers actually benefited financially from offering paid leave, seeing improvements in recruitment, retention and morale. Employers without paid leave policies suffered indirect costs, the report found, “including lost labor time, costs related to the spread of illness and disease, and challenges in employee recruitment and retention.”

Indeed, as we start sneezing over the next sandwich dropped off at Bluestem World Headquarters by a generous reader, we so totally won't be inclined to borrow that cane from Representative Garofalo to conduct a civil discourse on workers' rights with Mr. Gerber nor even hurl one of Mr. Erickson's colorful invectives while we run to the bathroom.

Photo: Should Rep. Pat Garofalo no be able to subdue Mr. Erickson through social media mockery or that tweeted challenge to a duel, perhaps he'll revive an older legislative tradition of caning. Photo by Rachel Stassen Berger via twitter.

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A zoning official here wielded his power to retaliate against people who opposed frac sand mining, an independent investigation found, slapping frac opponents with bogus zoning violations, threatening to tear down their house or cabin and, in one case, warning a frac opponent that she should “watch what she says” or risk getting cited.

His targets were people who had spoken out at public meetings or sent letters to the Houston County Board to complain about the encroachment of frac-sand mines, an issue that’s torn the county’s social fabric as the local government wrestles with how to manage the emerging and potentially lucrative industry.

The official, Bob Scanlan, was suspended for three days and given mandatory ethics training as a result of the investigation ordered last summer by the County Board of commissioners and conducted by Minneapolis law firm Lockridge Grindal Nauen.

The findings were made public recently, when the county released a redacted version to the Star Tribune. Today, Scanlan presides as the county zoning and planning director and acts as a key official in the county’s ongoing deliberations over sand mining.

What's perhaps just as outrageous is the defense of Scanlan by a county commissioner:

Commissioner Judy Storlie said she believes Scanlan is a good employee who’s being harassed at his job by people opposed to sand mining.

Take that, peasants! Should a public employee threaten you (contacting your employer, threatening to pull your house down) when you seek to have ordinances protecting your property enforced, your act of registering a complaint is harassment.

Until he got a judge to help him, Bryan VanGorp couldn’t walk on some of his property because it would violate a restraining order filed by a neighbor.

The order was ostensibly about VanGorp driving across his neighbor’s rural property to check on someone else’s cabin, but it came amid frac sand mining argument that found VanGorp, a retired veterinarian, and his neighbor, a Houston County sheriff’s deputy, on opposing sides.

Speaking from his back deck one recent afternoon, VanGorp said he worries about what could happen to him if he bumps into his neighbor at the grocery store and unintentionally violates the restraining order.

The frac-sand debate, he said, has “just blown up the neighborhood.”

Since Bluestem likes to nitpick media reports, bringing completely insignificant details that have nothing really to do with the story, we felt that our readers might enjoy knowing a bit more about this anecdote.

During the public comment portion of the Houston County Board meeting Tuesday, August 5, several concerned citizens expressed their opinions to the county board.

The citizens were concerned over the county’s support of a mine known as the “Erickson mine.”

A recent DNR decision ordered all mining to stop at the Erickson mine until a trout stream setback permit can be obtained.

The citizens would like the county to “stop defending this illegal permit.”

“You have already spent a huge amount of our money trying to grant one individual the ability to profit at the expense of other citizens and our environment,” said Sue Van Gorp during the comment period. “If one more dollar is spent on this fiasco to favor Erickson over the tax payers of this county we will go big and go public and have you investigated for misuse of public funds.” . ..

And then:

Following Tschumper and Van Gorps comments, Donna Buckbee indicated that she is concerned by the treatment her neighbor, Bryan Van Gorp is receiving from Erickson himself.

“We have been on the receiving end of threats and intimidation,” said Buckbee. “Threats to demolish our property and property damage. This is escalating.”

“I need to tell you, your deputy, your employee, Tracie Erickson is escalating his intimidation. I’m in fear for the life of my neighbor, Bryan Van Gorp. I’m in fear for a lot of us, including my own safety, but especially Bryan.

“You all have some responsibility to protect the citizens of this county.”

Dibble: The State High School League went through a fairly lengthy multi-year deliberative process, worked with lots of lots of stakeholders, worked with parents, worked with school board members, worked with the affected communities, the transgender communities, the student athletes, to find a way that transgender students could find a way to participate in athletics, a very very important part of educational and school experience . . .to figure out a way to do that in a way that makes sense and really provided some good guidance and allows school districts to work with their own communities and figure out what works best.

You know, there's concern about . . .who should be able to participate on particular teams and then of course there are concerns about privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms and that sort of thing. And you know, they figured it out and made a pretty good policy.

What this bill would do would completely overturn that, create the one-size-fits-all, misrepresent exactly who and what transgender people are, define them in the law. This bill was developed without any consultation or conversation with the transgender community or the LGBT community and purports to dictate and define who people are . . .without any scientific evidence.

It just says, a boy is born as a boy and a girl is born as a girl, and that's just not who and what transgender people are. I think we've got a really good policy, it was very difficult, lots different perspectives were taken under consideration and to come in as the legislature and just completely turn that over is wrong minded.

It really puts a lot of pressure and shows a lot of disrespect and makes it even harder to be a transgender student in our schools and I just think it's not appropriate. It's not going to go anywhere in the Senate.

Dibble, a gay man married eight years to his husband, has been a champion for human rights in the Minnesota legislature; he was the Senate author of Minnesota's marriage equality law and Safe Schools anti-bullying law.

After confirming with Dibble that the bill won't be passed in the Senate, Anderson turns to Miller, who says:

. . .I'm the lightning rod on this, because it's actually my bill.

Anderson: I should have started with you. . .

Miller: . . .There was a lot of things that Senator Dibble said and I'm not so much going to try and respond to them, so I apologize because there's just a lot of little bits and pieces but I hopefully can address some of the concerns he has.

My bill is really intended to do one thing. I believe . . .that the Minnesota High School League steps outside what their authority is. They did some things that the legislature should be doing and they made some determinations that are actually, if anything, against some current Minnesota state law. So what this bill and this bill was very carefully crafted, spent a lot of time trying to craft this so that we don't hold anyone in harm.

There's no one we're excluding out on this. All's it basically does is it has two parts. It says, number one--and it does define it as biological boys and biological girls throughout--that boys will not play on girls sports teams and when it comes to bathrooms, locker rooms or other place where there's a state of undress or privacy issues, that boys and girls biologically with dress and convene in their individual places.

And it also has a portion where it does address transgenders, where there's people who feel that they don't fit that definition, the schools are called on to accommodate those situations. So there's no one who's being excluded in this. There is no one who's being held out as being different or anything like that.

This is a way that we can have some order in our schools, which I think that most people can agree that schools need to have some structure and order. I believe that the Minnesota State High School League did something that actually more problems for our schools than they solved.

Next, Rep. Paul Marquart jumps in:

Marquart: You know, like a lot of social issues, times come and then you have to make some decisions and so forth. The Minnesota State High School League looked at this very thoroughly. They copied a lot of what they do in college--I think a lot of it was . . .

Miller, interrupting: No, that's not true.. .

Marquart: . .. but I don't think that the what we should be doing is overseeing what the Minnesota State High School League does. So--are we going to set up new competitive districts? Are we going to decide how long basketball games are? Or those sorts of things?

I have not had one athletic director come to me and say I disagree with what the Minnesota State High School League did. I --

Miller, interupting: And I've had several.

Marquart, laughing: I haven't had one and so I think it might be in the eye of the beholder sometimes, but I just don't think it's right for the legislature to start dictating what the Minnesota State High School League does as far as activities, and again, I haven't heard from any of my local districts on this issue and I wouldn't support a bill that would accomplish that.

Dahms: I hope that we don't minimize this to the point where we're comparing where our children are showering and going to the bathroom with which sexes are doing that with to the length of a basketball game, so that does concern me, but we'll move on beyond that.

I do have a concern in the fact that we have a lot of students who aren't transgender and I don't want them to feel uncomfortable where they go to the bathroom and shower and things like that neither, so I've gotten a lot of phone calls, a lot of emails, and most of it centered around the facilities, the bathroom facilities and the shower facilities and I think that that is a concern, but I certainly don't want to minimize this to the point that we're going to look at it like it's how long a basketball game is and how many minutes people can play. There's a big difference between that, but . . .in the Senate--

Miller, interrupting: There's a bit of hypocrisy because last year we passed an anti-bullying law which basically said that even though you currently have bullying policies, we believe that there's a state interest in putting control and order in our schools in this formal way and now this year it's hands off on the schools and I don't understand the logic of how those of . . .

Dibble, interrupting: . . . I can. First of all, the representation of the bullying bill as somehow dictating all of the parameters and policies is a misnomer and a myth that has been perpetuated about the anti-bullying bill for a long time.

It gives tools, it gives minimal expected standards but school districts are directed to craft and create those policies and promulgate them in conversation with their own communities and their own parents, just as the State High School League policy does on transgender students athletes.

And to say that somehow biological boys who are transgender are boys is simply showing a level of misunderstanding and disrespect for the experience of what it is to be transgender. Boys are not clamoring to get into girls' locker rooms. That is not what is happening here.

So I would just ask Representative Miller and anyone else who is interested to have a relationship with the transgender community before you proceed on taking steps like this--

Miller, interrupting: How are you aware that I don't have a relationship?

Dibble: Because you wouldn't have written the bill in the manner that you did.

Miller: Oh.

Dibble: So i would just say, let's have a reasoned conversation, not put thing in law that send a singal to these young sons and daughters of Minnesota parents that somehow how they're less worthy and that they're something negative.

The discussion moves on to the dueling budgets in the Minnesota House, Senate and Governor Dayton's office.

"I think newer members would be surprised how many lobbyists outside the chamber are actually former members. There are a lot of them," [current Senate Majority Leader Tom] Bakk said. "They make very good lobbyists for a client to pick up because they understand the place."

Former Republican House Leader Marty Seifert now hangs outside of the House chamber lobbying for outstate cities. Three of Bakk's predecessors running the Senate -- Roger Moe, John Hottinger and Dean Johnson -- also now are registered as lobbyists.

Moe retired from the Senate in 2002 because he was running for governor that year. After losing to Republican Tim Pawlenty, he waited about seven months and then registered as a lobbyist.

The DFLer who led the Senate for two decades said his decision to lobby was financial. He now represents some of Minnesota's largest companies: 3M, American Crystal Sugar, Delta Airlines, the Mall of America, HealthPartners and other household names.

"It has to do with having some hay in the barn. That's the bottom line," said Moe. Lobbying is far more lucrative than lawmaking.

A friend on twitter suggested that that there may be something more on the barn floor:

Bakk approves! Everything is fine. Moe says it's hay in the barn but I think it's a funkier element from the floor @sallyjos@PioneerPress

While Minnesota does not require a 'cooling off' period before former legislators can become lobbyists, many states and the federal government do have such requirements. A sample:

Federal: U.S. Senators are not supposed to lobby Congress for two years after they leave the Senate. For U.S. House members, the ban is one year.

Colorado: "For a period of two years following vacation of office, no statewide elected officeholder or member of the general assembly shall personally represent another person or entity for compensation before any other statewide elected officeholder or member of the general assembly."

Florida: "Members of the legislature and statewide elected officers are prohibited from personally representing another person or entity for compensation before the government body or agency of which the individual was a member for two years following vacation of office."

Iowa: Legislators are banned for two years from lobbying and receiving "compensation for any services rendered on behalf of any person, firm, etc., in relation to any case or proceeding with which the person was directly participated."

South Dakota: "No elected officer may act or register as a lobbyist, other than a public employee lobbyist, during a period of one year after the officer's termination of service in the state government. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor."

Sources: National Conference on State Legislatures; Congressional Research Service

In short, gentle readers, Minnesota Nice allows cashing in on that knowledge and those relationships a lot sooner than those horrible, nasty corrupt places like Washington DC or Florida. Who knew?

Photo: The Minnesota state capitol building after its current restoration (artist's rendition).

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Commenting on a Facebook post by Minnesota state representative Eric Lucero (R-Dayton) deploring bipartisan bills (HF97 and HF98) to allow undocumented immigrants to receive driver's licenses, Minnesota Child Protection League co-founder Renee Doyle lamented that the measures received an informational hearing in a House committee, while a bill to roll back the Minnesota State High School League's trans-inclusive athletic policy wasn't heard at all.

Doyle commented that the contrast made her "crazy upset with the House Leadership!"

With that much crazy, it's no wonder her anger about LGBT equality spills over the borders into xenophobia.

This is stunningly stupid. Thank you Eric for standing solidly against this. Tell me why a Republican House would entertain driver's licenses at the cost of our own citizens when illegals will be able to vote with their driver's license and collect entitlements? Tell me why we will do this for illegals an their children, but we will not pass a bill to protect the physical privacy of our own children in bathrooms and showers in our schools. I am crazy upset with the House Leadership!

. . .Speaker Kurt Daudt, who’d have to clear the bill for a vote in the House, said Wednesday he does not support it.

The licenses, considered to be a public safety measure by advocates, many law enforcement agencies, and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, would be marked as being for driving purposes only. The intent is to make sure that people driving on Minnesota's roads understand our state's traffic laws.

Supporters of a bill to grant driving privileges to immigrants living in the state illegally gave the Minnesota House transportation committee a rare standing-room-only audience and almost an hour of tearful testimony Wednesday.

But the bill’s prospects remain murky. The proposal, which stalled in three recent legislative sessions, enjoys unprecedented Republican backing in the House and a stronger show of support from law enforcement. A version passed in the Senate transportation committee last week.

The proposal still faces opposition from legislators who say the licenses could enable voter fraud and would reward those who have broken the country’s immigration laws. The transportation committee’s hearing was information-only, and no vote has been slated. Speaker Kurt Daudt, who’d have to clear the bill for a vote in the House, said Wednesday he does not support it.

To address concerns, supporters are now pitching a new driving card, which would feature the words “For driving only” on the back. They argue their proposal would boost safety for all Minnesotans.

“This is about safe roads and insured drivers,” said lead author Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake. “I want to take the politics out of it.”

Twelve states and territories allow residents to get a license regardless of their immigration status, a fourfold increase since 2012. About 90,000 people without lawful immigration status are estimated to live in Minnesota. . . .

Doyle isn't the only leader in Minnesota's anti-LGBT leadership community to raise the point on Lucero's post. Republican political operative Andy Parrish--another former Bachmann staff member--commented:

I'm more pissed off that this gets a hearing but biological bathrooms and castle doctrine cant [sic].

Neither Doyle not Parrish go as far as Senate District 45 Republican activist Susan Carpenter, however. She's not concerned about the transphobic bill as simply removing Representative Hamilton from office. She comments:

Good for you, Eric Lucero! I was there and found the testimony incredible, and Rod Hamilton is certainly not a Conservative. You have to look at the groups who were there lobbying for this. Isaiah, they were bog [sic] against Voter ID. Safe Roads MN was there. I am not familiar with them, but One State One License was another group that was there, so what does that tell you? That tells me that they will push to get this on Driver's Licenses and then bring forth their outrage about how RACIST it is. One State, one License. Think about that group being there (people wearing stickers). There is a hidden agenda as usual and none of it is good! Rep Hamilton should resign the way he carried on.

Bluestem Prairie frequently is highly critical of Representative Hamilton, but this isn't one of the issues we'll scold him about. As for his leaving office, we think that should come about by retirement or defeat at the polls.

Photo: Representative Rod Hamilton (center right in jacket and blue shirt) and members of the One State, One License Coalition, via the OSOL Coalition's Facebook page.

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Legislation that would require 50-foot vegetative buffers along waterways will be the subject of a listening session with Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls and Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, being sponsored by the Redwood and Renville County Farm Bureaus.

It will be at 1:30 p.m. April 3 at the Redwood Area Community Center in Redwood Falls. The public is invited.

Bluestem hopes that area residents attend and someone shows up to say positive things about his bill, because no one should be that unhappy.

Photo: Someone needs a buffer strip.

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Bluestem Prairie thought our readers might enjoy the anecdote as much as his colleagues did:

. . .I just gotta say, this bee stuff fascinates me. I got called by a local farmer in my district, a good friend of mine from growing up actually in the southern part of the state when we lived in Rochester, and I got conned into getting these bees and going and picking them up and putting them in my trunk.

Well, I had no idea they were actually like [pause] ...

[Committee member]: Like bees?

[Laughter]

They were. . .when you grabbed the box and it gets shaken, you get a little worried, especially when you realize that you don't have a truck, and the thing's sitting in your trunk and there's plenty of spots to get through. So I drove as fast as I could back home, within the perimeters of the law of course.

Here's the audio in YouTube format:

Metsa later learned that the hive did not survive the winter as they were "southern bees," and that "Russian bees" might have been better for Minnesota's winters.

Pollinators, like butterflies, moths and particularly honeybees, are integral members of the Minnesota River Basin, doing the part of fertilizing plants by transporting pollen. Hansen spoke of four detriments to health of pollinators - poor habitat, poor nutrition, parasites and pesticides. Pesticides weaken pollinator food sources and habitat, which weakens pollinators that are finished off when fighting parasites below full strength.

Metsa's "Russian bees" are a strategy beekeepers are adopting to cope with parasites as the strain is better able to fend off the varroa mite, according to the USDA's 1999 Agricultural Research Service article, Varroa-Tolerant Bees Keep Hives Buzzing.

While the strategy is new to Representative Metsa, researchers and beekeeper have looked kindly on Russian bees for many years. The strain was first imported by USDA researchers in 1997. Russian bee colonies are better able to survive cold weather in part because fewer bees winter over in the hives. They also emerge from the hive later than the Italian strains do, and thus are not so stressed by the relative lack of pollen of our later springs.

Obviously, researchers have years of work with Russian bees. The bill that was the subject of consideration when Metsa shared his hilarious education was a matter of tweaking language about consumer labeling for plants and seeds as pollinator friendly. It's mostly a provision for home gardeners who want to provide habitat for bees that won't inadvertently kill the bees.

Under a law passed last year in Minnesota, plants and seeds cannot be labeled as pollinator-friendly if they have been treated with a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, which are lethal to bees.

One point that the committee was trying to work out was which fund in the Minnesota Department of Agriculture would pay for spot testing of seeds and plants to make sure lots met the labeling requirements.

The law was hailed as a victory for consumers who want to be able to plant pollinator-friendly habitat without unknowingly killing bees, butterflies and other pollinators. As pollinator populations decline, many Minnesotans hope to create islands of habitat and food for these valuable insects and birds.

"This is loosely drawn language, it's very vague," Dahms said. ". . . This was passed in the House last year, and the concern I have is that we're going to start asking people when they apply for money through Legacy or LCCMR, we're going to insist they meet this and it's really going to be hard to do that because the terms and the facts just aren't there. . . " (We post the section of statute below).

But it's not just wildlife habitat will be affected. As a consequence of removing the language, greenhouses and garden stores could market bee-lethal, neonic-treated plants and seeds as "pollinator friendly" to the home gardener.

The pesticide industry's influence grew even more toxic on Wednesday with the senate committee's unanimous voice vote.

In 2008, Minnesota voters overwhelming voted to change the state constitution and tax themselves to fund clean water and wildlife habitat. People seeking to help pollinators--which are essentially for the propagation of many fruits and vegetables--have hoped to make Legacy lands rich in habitat for pollinators. They're not whitetails or ducks, but they are part of our non-game wildlife heritage.

The underlined language will be removed from statute if the bill becomes law:

CHAPTER 299--H.F.No. 2798

An act relating to environment; prohibiting plants treated with pollinator lethal insecticide from being labeled or advertised as beneficial to pollinators; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 18H.02, by adding a subdivision; 18H.14.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18H.02, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:

Subd. 28a. Pollinator lethal insecticide. "Pollinator lethal insecticide" means an insecticide absorbed by a plant that makes the plant lethal to pollinators. Pollinator lethal insecticide includes, but is not limited to, the neonicotinoid class of insecticides that affect the central nervous system of pollinators and may cause pollinator paralysis or death.

Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18H.14, is amended to read: 18H.14 LABELING AND ADVERTISING OF NURSERY STOCK. (a) Plants, plant materials, or nursery stock must not be labeled or advertised with false or misleading information including, but not limited to, scientific name, variety, place of origin, hardiness zone as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, and growth habit.

(b) All nonhardy nursery stock as designated by the commissioner must be labeled "nonhardy" in Minnesota.

(c) A person may not offer for distribution plants, plant materials, or nursery stock, represented by some specific or special form of notation, including, but not limited to, "free from" or "grown free of," unless the plants are produced under a specific program approved by the commissioner to address the specific plant properties addressed in the special notation claim.

(d) Nursery stock collected from the wild state must be inspected and certified prior to sale and at the time of sale must be labeled "Collected from the Wild." The label must remain on each plant or clump of plants while it is offered for sale and during the distribution process. The collected stock may be grown in nursery rows at least two years, after which the plants may be sold without the labeling required by this paragraph.

(e) A person may not label or advertise an annual plant, bedding plant, or other plant, plant material, or nursery stock as beneficial to pollinators if the annual plant, bedding plant, plant material, or nursery stock has been treated with and has a detectable level of systemic insecticide that: (1) has a pollinator protection box on the label; or (2) has a pollinator, bee, or honey bee precautionary statement in the environmental hazards section of the insecticide product label. The commissioner shall enforce this paragraph as provided in chapter 18J. EFFECTIVE DATE.

Mar 24, 2015

Yesterday morning, a kind friend who teaches sustainable agriculture and equine science classes emailed to let us know that we had been mistaken to believe that the word "pesticide" only refers to insecticides (chemicals that kill insects) and not herbicides as well.

We had criticized Rep. McNamara for claiming that neonicotinoids—a class of insecticide--were used to control weeds, and that "bees don't eat corn." We pointed out that bees gather and eat corn pollen from flowering tassels.

As is the case so often when people learn new things, that information turns up in conversation or debate. That sort of synchronicity occurred for us later that day toward the end of the marathon

Representative Joe McDonald (R-Delano) makes a motion to move HF1322 from the Environment and Natural Resources committee to the Taxes committee. Representative Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) asks what the bill is about, and Hansen points out that herbicides are pesticides as defined under statute--and pesticides are regulated by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

This leads to Hansen's main point:

Members, we've had bills that dealt with the environment that haven't gone to the Environment [committee,] we have a number of bills that have been moved around very lackadaisically here.

Here's video of the exchange between McDonald and Hansen:

Hansen has a good point. It's important that the Majority pay attention to where the bills are being sent, just as the Speaker should try to avoid changing the rules within a session.

We corrected our copy when we learned that we were using terms incorrectly, and Speaker Daudt ought to acknowledge that his limited understanding of the rules shouldn't be used as a smokescreen for an agenda.

Photo: Bees gathering pollen on corn tassels.

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The MSHSL courageously defied loud opponents of the policy, rejecting alarmist accusations the policy would have boys and girls showering together and some boys would pretend to be transgender so they could ogle girls at close quarters. Ridiculous. They’re using variations of the same fear tactics used in the same-sex-marriage debate – that allowing it would spell the end of marriage as a cherished institution.

Opponents of the policy also claimed the ruling would take away freedom of choice from schools. What about the freedom of choice of transgender students?

Then, of course, the old argument was trotted out again – whether people choose their sexuality or whether it’s a genetic factor. Virtually all psychologists have determined sexuality is not the result of a decision, but even if it were, so what? Americans, we are constantly reminded, can choose who they want to be in this great, free country.

The 20 or so Republican legislators and their supporters who oppose the MSHSL policy are resorting to the same alarmist tactics mentioned above. They are even daring to claim the new policy is harmful to transgender students because it will cause them to be bullied. As if they aren’t now, including by some ignorant state legislators.

So far, the legislation hasn't received a committee hearing in either chamber and is unlikely to pass.

However, it's possible that the bunch who last week refused to suspend the rules of the House to make sure that long-term care for the disabled and home care were adequately funded might well decide to suspend the rules so they can put bullying transgender children up for debate.

Photo: At the MSHSL meeting where the board adopted a transgender-inclusive policy.

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Two irate letters in the Rochester Bulletin suggest that the answer to our question isn't just "no," but "Hell No."

Outside of local papers in the potential corridors for the train--which will not stop between the metro and Rochester--there's been little mention in the press of the passionate and widespread opposition to the project on the part of those in its path. Instead, the media focused on the happy feelings that Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) and Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) were experiencing after meeting with the private investors.

I am very disappointed in Rep. Pat Garofalo and Rep. Steve Drazkowski, who were against this, but have flip-flopped and are willing to compromise since there is a private investor.

ntroducing bills to ensure no public money will ever be used is not enough. The only reasonable option is the no-build option. As Wendy Meadley stated in the March 18 Post-Bulletin, they will no longer work with communities. Rather, they will focus on the possible transformation it will bring.

The only potential transformation for those towns in the path of Zip Rail is to ghost towns. This is not a good thing for any of the communities outside Rochester and the Twin Cities. Everybody else along the path will lose.

I find it hilarious that there is a Nels (Rep. Nels Pierson) involved in this because it reminds me of "Little House on the Prairie." In the series finale, when the train wins and is going to come through town, which none of the townspeople wanted, they took drastic measures. What did they do? They blew up every building in the town because they would have lost everything anyways.

Maybe those of us who live along the corridors should do the same. After all, the transformational impact for these towns would be the same.

Singewald draws his pop culture inspiration for putting those torches to use from The Last Farewell 1984 TV movie finale of Little House on the Prairie.

Seven years ago, many Goodhue County residents began spending the next five years opposing the construction of a large wind farm in their neighborhood. They hired a lawyer and presented many arguments to the state Public Utilities Commission concerning physical, mental and emotional health issues and the loss of property values.

These issues were gathered from similar high population centers with wind farms. Each time the Public Utilities Commission would dismiss all of the claims. The wealthy wind farm investors had the green light to proceed.

Then the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that six active eagle nesting sites would be endangered by the wind farms. The story ended.

Now, our focus is on Zip Rail. Few, if any, residents in Goodhue County are in favor of the proposed Zip Rail. However, it seems wealthy investors will be allowed to build this rail, located 20 feet in the air through one of two locations in Goodhue County.

When they announce their route, hopefully, our DNR friends will find some endangered eagle nests in the area and stop the construction. After all, birds count more than people.

In the comments section, Ric Dow comments:

Breaking news: Spotted Owls have been sighted throughout Goodhue County... and snail darters!!!

The letters sharply contrast with the casual Facebook threads of friends in the Twin Cities, who imagine that this project is "transit" like light rail in the metro or commuter rail on the East Coast. Nope, it's an express train that will cost between $27-$30 each way with little benefit for the rural counties in the way.

ZIP RAIL is a proposed the 100 Mile long Passenger Rail Line from the Twin Cities to Rochester- no stops-Yes- I said, no stops! This electric Zip Rail will travel between 165 to 220 miles an hour, in a 400 feet wide closed corridor. A closed corridor mean there will be fences to keep everything out, no East and West road crossing, or no animal crossing. This propose Zip Rail is to be built near Highway 52 or Highway 56. The Rail corridors and the 3 to 5 overpasses − for the 100 mile railroad − will remove over 3,600 acres permanently from production, a loss of $4,520,000 from Minnesota Economy each year.

Do an experiment. Look out your window to the road, right in the middle of the road is a high fence and then a railroad track beyond. A train going 165 Mile MPH travels down the track. WOW! The train riders will get to their destinations in 45 minute. Now you need to get your mall from the box on the other side of the road. Get in your car and drive to the nearest overpass — probable 10 to 20 miles away — cross the Zip Rail overpass and drive back to your mailbox for the mail. Isn't this a great idea for Central Minnesota? How long did it take you to get home with your mail? How much extra money did it cost you?

All the east and west roads in Dakota, Goodhue, Dodge and Olmsted Counties will be cut, where there will no At-Grade roads at all. Farming operation will have extra miles to move equipment to fields, Emergency, and Law Enforcement Services will have longer response times. Cities and businesses will have fewer customers. Churches and communities will be divided. School districts will be eliminated or have long bus rides for students. Wild animals will not be able to cross the Zip Rail corridors. The quality of life for everyone in Minnesota will be effected by this railroad.

Minnesotans like to travel. We want to go to Red Wing, Mankato, the State Parks, or go fishing in the small lakes. We — Minnesotans- need to stop the zip rail from being built. Call or write your elected officials let them know this Zip Rail is not a good idea. Sign the petitions No Zip Rail Some information from 2015 MN State Rail Plan.

We tremble when we reflect on what these folks will say and do when they throw off the shackles of Minnesota Nice and tell us what they really think.

Image: Artist's conception of the Zip Rail. Missing? The barriers that will be built on both sides of the tracks, which wouldn't feature a single at-grade crossing once it leaves the Cities.

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Mar 20, 2015

When the Minnesota House met in session on Thursday, Rep. Jerry Newton (DFL-Coon Rapids) moved to suspend the rules and bring HF564 to the floor for a vote.

The bill, authored by Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) would modify intermediate care facility reimbursement rates for persons with developmental disabilities and home and community-based service providers.

The goal? To get Republicans, who are talking publicly about improving HHS care in Greater Minnesota, to commit to funding increases for workers and facilities for the disabled-- or to look like fools next week when the majority caucus leadership sets budget targets that would not begin to fund the Republican wishlist.

As one might expect, the motion was defeated.

What happened next was unexpected. Representative Jim Knoblach (R-St. Cloud) made a motion to adjourn; a request was made for a roll call, but Daudt ignored the request and subsequent calls and shouts, including one that called him a dictator.

Here's the messy close:

A temporary lapse of reason on Speaker Daudt's part--or a harbinger for the rest of the session as bills come out of committee and on to the floor?

Photo: Speaker Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) can't look the chamber in the eye as he ignores requests for a roll call vote on the motion to adjourn.

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The 2014 session was successful in campaigning for a 5 percent increase to reimbursement rates for the disabled. This session is focusing on a long-term care bill for nursing homes and elderly care. A Senate bill would modify the nursing facility reimbursement system.

"The current funding is based on a structure developed in the 1990s," said Dahms. "It's a one-size-fits-all rate structure."

As a matter of fact, the formula isn't one-size-fits-all. When that structure was developed in the 1990s, the state divided into three funding categories: metro, rural and "deep rural," with reimbursement declining with each zone.

Bluestem has to wonder how rural legislators agreed to that formula. In the 1990s, more lawmakers were allocated to Greater Minnesota before demographic changes and redistricting shifted power to the Metro. Go figure.

The new legislation being pushed by the rural GOP caucus would create reimbursement criteria based on a facility's incurred expenses. If the long-term care bill were to be passed under its full language, it would amount to $200 million in funding and significantly increase the compensation for nursing home staffs.

"We have to understand the severe situation in our rural nursing homes," said Dahms.

Many nursing homes are being forced to turn away clients due to a lack of staffing. Rural Minnesota in particular is struggling to maintain adequate staffing at current reimbursement rates and with the baby boomers now beginning to move into nursing homes the need for these facilities will only increase The state cannot afford to lose any long-term care homes at this time, Dahms said.

As we noted, it's not a one-size-fits-all formula that's creating the problem. Nor, as we have discovered, is the solution being developed and advanced in both chambers of the legislator a creation of "the rural GOP caucus."

. . . A proposal moving in both the House and Senate would revamp the way the state pays nursing homes. House author Joe Schomacker, R-Luverne, said since 1993, the state has set the reimbursement rates for nursing home facilities. But over the years, those rates have failed to keep up with inflation. Schomacker's bill would base reimbursement rates on expense reports filed with the state. He said it's critical state lawmakers act quickly to help struggling nursing homes. Five years ago, he said the state's nursing homes had a total profit of more than $30 million. That has since plummeted to $4 million in profit for the roughly 350 facilities in the state.

"There's been a dramatic shift in just how much funding is available in the system, and I think we're at a really big turning point if we can't get going in a different direction," he said.

It remains to be seen whether Schomacker's $200 million proposal can win the support necessary to pass this legislative session. In the meantime, several lawmakers — including Liebling — are introducing bills to help increase funding for nursing homes in their districts. Liebling told her colleagues it's time to pass a statewide solution.

She added, "I am really hoping it's not going to be about my district or your district. It's going to be about all of us."

The legislation eliminates the "deep rural" category and splits the state into two zones (moving from three sizes to two).

We've put the Senate author in bold because Senator Lourey is so not part of the GOP Rural Caucus.

Moreover, when we look at the status HF316, we see a host of co-authors from both parties, ranging from Erin Murphy (DFL-St.Paul) to arch-conservative Glenn Gruenhagen (R-Glencoe). As is the case under Minnesota State rules, Lourey's companion bill has far fewer co-authors, but SenatorJulie Rosen (R-Vernon Center) joins four rural Democrats: Kent Eken of Twin Valley; Lyle Koenen of Clara City; and, Leroy Stumpf of Plummer.

Only Dahms knows how that grouping can be described as the GOP Rural Caucus, but we'd hope that the New Ulm Journal might in the future look up the bills and check things out, rather than take Dahms' word for these things.

Carlson did--and a much different story emerges beyond the catchphrase of the hour.

Photo: Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls).

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Just in case anyone had any doubts about the matter, Representative Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg) assured Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis) that he was not elected king of Minnesota. Thissen had asked Miller a question about HF564, a bill to fund long-term care for disabled Minnesotans after suburban Democrat Jerry Newton had moved to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

Prefaced by a fingerpointing brag about how "how when I beat one of your best friends" by 10 1/2 points " even after you went out and door knocked with him," Miller asserted he was not voted "King of Minnesota."

Here's the video of the moment:

Photo: Representative Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg), via Facebook.

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The letter from Pollinate Minnesota talks mostly about the need to be conscious of not having neonicotinoids plants planted that are going to kill bees when they're planted. My amendment, because it was so broad in the original adoption in so broad that it would stop the planting of certain crops that would be used temporarily to prepare the land to properly plant it with prairie plants such as corn seeds coated with the neonicotinoid, and bees don't eat corn, so it's not going to kill the bees. That's not the issue here. . .

As the photo at the top of the post illustrates, bees do gather and eat corn pollen from tassels (the flower of the corn plant), and researchers at Purdue and elsewhere have discovered that bees are exposed to neonicotinoids via pollen from corn grown from treated seeds; one study found worker bee counts to be lower at hives near corn fields. Talc dust from the seeds themselves can also be a problem.

Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis) insisted that no neonicotinoids were safe for pollinators, while noting that non-treated seed corn, such as that used by organic farmers, was available.

Regardless, McNamara was successful in stripping language protecting pollinators from HF181, the outdoor heritage funding bill as it went through the Legacy Committee. Along the way, McNamara made an additional odd claim neonicotinoid pesticides that are playing a role in their decline.

He associated neonicotinoids with weed control, an odd notion given that herbicides, rather than insecticides, kill plants. Treating seeds with neonicotinoids is done to discourage insects, not weeds.

Here's a Youtube of the excerpts of committee discussion referenced above:

In 2008, Minnesotans voted to dedicate a three-eighths of one percent tax on themselves for 25 years, until 2034 for wildlife habitat, clean water and arts & culture. These funds are commonly called "Legacy" money.

Learn more about pollinators and neonicotinoid pesticides from the Xerces Society.

On Thursday, Michele Lentz of the Minnesota Child Protection League joined Rep. Tim Miller and AM 980 KKMS host Paul Ridgeway to talk about the bill.

Rep. Miller told Ridgeway that the bill was about bathroom use.

“You know the the fundamental question I ask people when they are discussing this bill, do we as a state, do we believe in there being boy bathrooms and girl bathrooms? And if we do then we need to do something about confirming that through the the laws that we have because right now that’s up for question after what the Minnesota State High School League did.”

He told Ridgeway that he had already discussed the bill with Gov. Mark Dayton. “I had a meeting with the governor on this subject and one of the things that he said was that frankly he doesn’t believe there’s that much support for what we are doing.”

The bill was amended today to remove language that would have prevented active lawsuits from going ahead. The amendment also required a facility to be out of compliance with state noise and odor standards.

As Davis reports, the committee voted 6-4 to send the bill to the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee, despite additional opposition from city and township officials:

City and township officials said Anderson's bill would limit their ability to bring nuisance claims against large farm operations. Environmentalists also oppose the bill.

Days after saying they want to cut taxes and still spend money on key priorities, a key Republican in the Minnesota House is floating a proposal to end a popular health care program for Minnesota's working poor.

Pressured by their own party to return a $1.9 billion budget surplus to taxpayers, GOP leaders are looking for ways to do that while pursuing their agenda.

State Rep. Matt Dean, who chairs the House Health Care Finance Committee, would move the 95,000 people currently participating in MinnesotaCare coverage to MNsure, where they would buy a private plan. Dean estimates the shift would save about $900 million over two years, cash that could be used for Republican priorities that include nursing home funding, and mental and dental health programs. . . .

Ghita Worcester, senior vice president of public affairs and marketing for Ucare, which covers about 30 percent of MinnesotaCare's participants, said the company's analysis of Dean's idea points to higher costs for Minnesotacare participants.

"We're talking about a couple of hundred dollars at least in differences in premium through the year, and deductible differences," Worcester said.

Dean's bill is scheduled to receive its first hearing this week.

While his approach to MinnesotaCare might suggest Dean wants to bolster MNsure, which has been the subject of criticism from Dean and other Republicans since it launched in 2013, Dean said that's not the case. He has another bill that would abolish MNsure and move Minnesota to the federal exchange in 2017.

House DFL Leader Paul Thissen released the following statement on Rep. Matt Dean’s proposal to dismantle MinnesotaCare, cutting health care for 95,000 Minnesotans.

“With a $2 billion surplus, it is outrageous that Republicans would consider jeopardizing the health care of tens of thousands of Minnesotans. Not only do Republicans want to cut taxes for corporate special interests, they apparently want to pay for it by cutting health care for hardworking Minnesotans and working parents.

In 2011 Republicans took us down the path of taking money from doctors and hospitals and conjuring made-up savings through Medicaid waivers to create the pretense of a responsibly-balanced budget. That path led to a state government shutdown. It's not a path we should follow again.”

There's that.

Meanwhile, progressive political operatives at TakeAction Minnesota were tweeting about how Greater Minnesota's working poor would disproportionately pay the price of the Dean scheme. After we retweeted one of those posts, communications director Greta Bergstrom sent us this documentation sheet, which we've posted to Scribd:

The choice likely signals a return to hostility toward applications for Heritage funds from Ojibwe bands, given some members' negative attitudes toward the bands' prohibition of wolf hunting. Gray wolves hold a special place in the bands' cultural belief systems, which position the animals as the indigenous people's brethren.

Many non-native hunters resented not being allowed to shoot wolves on native land. For the moment, it's an abstract discussion, since a federal judge's decision to close the hunt in the upper Great Lakes region.

Anderson most recently made his opinion clear at the December 11, 2014 meeting when he moved to strike funding that would allow the White Earth Band to acquire land along the Wild Rice River and its tributaries for wildlife habitat protection.

Representative Steve Green (R-Fosston) is an enrolled member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, or Gaa-waabaabiganikaag Anishinaabeg, but he's having nothing to do with a proposal the nation submitted to the Outdoor Heritage Fund.

The council that reviews and approves proposals included the nation's request in its recommendations to the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee today, but an amendment Green submitted removing the tribe's request passed on a roll call vote.

DFL Representative David Dill joined the Republican majority on the committee in voting down the proposal. . . .

Green's objections were not explicitly linked to the wolf hunt, but rather to a belief that the tribe doesn't pay enough taxes. (This claim had been vetted and rejected by the council, as one member notes in the December 11, 2014 tape).

The Legacy funding proposal came up in the House Legacy committee Monday, and an amendment was on the agenda to restore the funding, but the audio from that meeting has yet to be posted.

Bluestem believes that the election of Anderson as chair, was well as Speaker Daudt's appointment of Representative Dave Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) to replace South St. Paul DFLer Rick Hansen on the Council, signals a step backward for funding native projects. The Pioneer Press's Dave Orrick reported in New Lessard-Sams outdoor council set, and ready to disburse $100M:

Rep. David Dill, DFL-Crane Lake: Dill comes to the council amid a predictable fracas of finger-pointing. Daudt appointed Dill instead of Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul. Hansen and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, both objected publicly, accusing Daudt reneging on a pledge of bi-partisan cooperation. Daudt hasn't responded, but the deed is done. Some areas to watch for possible contrast between Dill and Hansen: Whether Indian projects should be funded, how invasive species work should be viewed by the council, and whether any money from the Outdoor Heritage Fund should be spent to reimburse local governments for lost property tax revenues when land is purchased for protection. More on that below. Daudt also re-appointed Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings.

We'll see how this cultural conflict works out.

Photo: Canoes and wild rice. The White Earth project will also help preserve water quality necessary for wild rice.

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“At this point I’ve had no one from Greater Minnesota tell me that they think this is a great idea,” he said Friday.

“I also want to send a message that we in the agriculture community are not anti-buffer,” Torkelson said.

Will no one offer this poor man solace? The bill was introduced on Monday, March 9, 2015 and by Friday, he could remember no one from Great Minnesota telling they even liked the idea.

To cheer up Representative Torkelson, we went looking to see if we could find people from Greater Minnesota who might have told the pork producer that they think this is a great idea. First, we would like to remind him of his co-author, Representative David Bly, Democrat of Northfield.

Unless the sylvan city of cows, colleges and contentment has also become the metropolis of radical gerrymandering, David Bly is a resident of Greater Minnesota. He is a resident of Greater Minnesota thinks this idea is so good that he introduced a clone bill, HF1819 on Thursday, March 12, 2015.

On our personal Facebook page on Sunday, Bly posted this comment:

I have not seen or heard from Rep. Torkelson since the bill was introduced. I had offered to author it. I will see Paul tomorrow at the Leg. Water Commission. Many of my greater Minnesota constituents have e-mailed me that they whole heartedly support the Governor. Many farmers I have talked to say they support the concept and want to work on it. Some agree with clean safe water but don't want a 'one size fits' all approach. A few don't want anyone telling them what to do. I have a few farmers tell me they are concerned about the practices of their neighbors and recognize the need for some enforcement.

Dairy farmer James Kanne, a Franklin area dairy farmer who is one of Torkelson's constituents commented:

Saw and talked with Paul on Thur before and after the committee meeting. This was only mentioned in passing, he knows we support the concept and we are willing to work on the details. Most of our conversation centered around the bill on the table that neuters the citizens board for the MPCA. Personally I would like to see a provision that works with the landowners to improve results, t-values, of the water leaving their property. How each farmer would do this would depend on their circumstances. In some cases narrow buffer strips are fine in others complex systems may be needed to control the runoff into the waterway. We all want clean water and will do what we can where we can to get it.

Karen Johnson Flom, the office manager for the Renville County Soil and Water District posted this note:

I sent him an email on Friday thanking him for introducing the bill and quoted 4 positive comments from Renville County landowners.

Our final example to help Representative Torkelson cheer up about the bill he authored comes from Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) in Montevideo, Minnesota, a rural, grassroots membership organization that's dedicated to conservation in the lovely Upper Minnesota River Valley.

All of Torkelson's district is in the Minnesota River watershed, and what with his being the author of the bill and all, we're surprised he hasn't been contacted by members and staff of the group. He and his staff must not go on social media much, since the (mostly) energetic young staff at CURE has been tweeting away about #BuffersNow.

Here's a nice tweet with a picture from Thursday by Ariel Herrod, a CURE staffer who lives in Montevideo.

Be very polite about your support of the bill. If you want to learn more about the proposal so that you feel more confident about your message to Representative Torkelson, Bluestem recommended the DNR's new Governor's Buffer Initiative webpage.

Meme: An example of the pro-buffers social media Greater Minnesotans are sharing.

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